Researchers are often interested in the opinions of a large group of people about a particular topic or issue.

3Three Major Characteristics

Information is collected from a group of people in order to describe some aspect of the population

Information is collected by asking questions of the members of the selected group

Information is collected from a sample rather than from every member of the population

4Descriptive Survey Research

End Sought

Exploration

If the purpose of the research is to become more familiar with phenomena, to gain new insights, or to formulate a more specific research problem or hypothesis.

5Descriptive Survey Research

End Sought

Description

If we want to portray accurately the incidence, distribution and characteristics of a group or situation.

6Why Are Surveys Conducted?

The purpose of surveys is to describe the characteristics of a population.

Researchers find out how the members of a population distribute themselves on one or more variables.

7Why Are Surveys Conducted?

A selected sample is surveyed and the description of the population is inferred from what is found out about the sample.

In descriptive surveys, researchers are not as concerned about why the observed distribution exists as with what the distribution is.

8Social Exchange Theory

A theory of human behavior used to explain the development continuation of human interaction.

Asserts that actions of individuals are motivated by the return these actions are expected to bring, and in fact usually do bring, from others.

9Social Exchange Theory

Three elements are critical for predicting a particular action

Rewards,

Costs

Trust

10Rewards

What one expects to gain from a particular activity

11Costs

What one gives up or spends to obtain the reward

12Trust

Is the expectation that in the long run the rewards of doing something will outweigh the costs

The likelihood or responding to a request to complete a self-administered questionnaire, and doing so accurately, is greater when the respondent trusts that the expected rewards of responding will outweigh the anticipated costs.

13Social Exchange Theory

Implies 3 questions about the design of a questionnaire and the implementation process.

How can we increase rewards for responding?

How can perceived costs be reduced?

How can trust be established so that the ultimate rewards will outweigh the costs of responding?

14Show Positive Regard

Thibaut Kelly (1959) noted that being regarded positively by another person has reward value to many people.

Give respondents reasons why the survey is being done, provide toll-free numbers to call with questions, and personally address correspondences

15Say Thank You

Blau (1964) argues that a time-consuming service of great material benefit (like a survey) could be appropriately repaid in a social exchange context by mere verbal appreciation

16Ask for Advice

Both Blau (1964) and Homans (1961) have pointed out that the feeling of being asked for help, advice, or assistance provides a sense of reward to people.

17Support Group Values

Blau (1964) noted that supporting a persons values can instill a sense of reward in individuals.

Depending on the survey population, sponsorship, and topic, one can often appeal to values shared widely by those who are surveyed.

18Give Tangible Rewards

Research has shown that token financial incentives will increase response rates (reciprocal obligation)

Only a dollar or two, enclosed with the request to complete a questionnaire

Outperforms promises to send a larger reward later.

19Make the Questionnaire Interesting

Cialdini (1984) argued that liking to do something is a powerful determinant of behavior.

Heberlein Baumgartner (1978) showed that questionnaires on topics of high salience to recipients are more likely to be returned.

20Make the Questionnaire Interesting

Questionnaires can be made more interesting to respondents by

improving layout and design,

ordering questions so the more interesting ones are placed at the beginning, and

making questions easy to understand and answer.

21Give Social Validation

Knowing that other people like themselves have completed a similar action can strongly influence peoples willingness to comply with a request.

22Give Social Validation

In other words, some people are socially validated by seeing themselves as similar to most others in a group.

Therefore in later attempts to encourage response, telling people that many others have already responded encourages them to act in a similar way.

23An Opportunity for You

Inform respondents that opportunities to respond are scarce

Telling people that there are relatively few opportunities to respond and that they may not have an opportunity to respond unless they do so quickly can influence people to act (Groves et al., 1992).

24Deadline to Respond

Deadlines to respond can make a difference

If it is not too quick of a deadline that then feels like a cost (needing to put something else aside)

25Avoid Subordinating Language

For us to help solve the school problems in your community it is necessary for you to complete the questionnaire vs. Would you please do me a favor?

26Avoid Subordinating Language

Former implies that the respondent is dependent upon the letter writer.

Blau (1964) argues that people prefer not to be subordinate to others. Not responding is an easy way of avoiding a sense of being subordinated.

27Avoid Embarrassment

Thibaut and Kelly (1959) pointed out that costs to an individual are higher when great physical or mental effort is required, and when embarrassment or anxiety accompany the action.

28Ways of Reducing Social Costs

Questionnaires often get discarded when the respondent peruses the questionnaire but cant figure out where to start, or what the first question means.

Not being able to read well or not being able to express ones self in writing are similar social costs.

29Avoid inconvenience

Not including a return envelope lowers response rates.

Including a return envelope with a real stamp(s) on it also improves response rate over a business reply envelope.

30Make It Short and Easy

Questionnaires that appear shorter and easy to fill out lessen the perceived costs of responding

Such appearance can be reinforced by indicating in the cover letter that responding should only take a few minutes

Most surveys are voluntary but many government surveys are not. In these cases, requiring a response does increase response rate.

39Make the Task Appear Important

Appeal to people on the basis that something important will ultimately happened as a result of the survey.

Printing personalized cover letters on letterhead stationary and a well-designed questionnaire can create this perception.

Form letters and sloppy questionnaires do not.

40Invoke other Relationships

Use other exchange relationships to help evoke a response (doing a favor)

Alumni helping out.

41Tailored Design

Is the development of survey procedures that create respondent trust and perceptions of increased rewards and reduce costs for being a respondent

Takes into account features of the survey situation and have as their goal the overall reduction of survey error.

42Tailored Design

Exchange concepts must be communicated visually (rather than verbally) through the use of visual design principles for the development of the questionnaire and implementation materials

Successful tailored design seeks to reduce survey errors!

43Types of Surveys

There are two types of surveys

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

44Cross-sectional Survey

Collects information from a sample that has been drawn from a predetermined population

Information is collected at just one point in time, even though it could take days to gather all the data

A census is when the entire population is surveyed

45Types of Surveys

Longitudinal survey

Information is collected at different points in time in order to study changes over time

Three types are employed

Trend study

Cohort Study

Panel Study

46Issues to Consider

Population

Sampling

Questions

Content

Bias

Administrative

47Population Issues

Can the population be enumerated?

Is the population literate?

Are there language issues?

Will the population cooperate?

What are the geographic restrictions?

48Sampling Issues

What data is available?

Can respondents be found?

Who is the respondent?

Can all members of the population be sampled?

Are response rates likely to be a problem?

49Questions Issues

What types of questions can you ask?

How complex will the questions be?

Will screening questions be needed?

Can question sequence be controlled?

Will lengthy questions be asked?

Will long response scales be used?

50Content Issues

Can respondents be expected to know about the issue?

Will respondents need to consult records?

51Bias Issues

Can social desirability be avoided?

Can interviewer distortion and subversion be controlled?

Can false respondents be avoided?

52Administrative Issues

Costs

Facilities

Time

Personnel

53Steps in Survey Research

The following steps are used in conjunction with performing proper surveys in research

Defining the problem

Identifying the target population (unit of analysis)

54Steps in Survey Research

The following steps (cont.)

Choosing the mode of data collection

Direct administration

Mail surveys

Telephone surveys

Personal interviews

55Advantages and Disadvantages of Survey Data-Collection Methods 56Example of an Ideal vs. an Actual Telephone Sample for a Specific Question 57Steps in Survey Research (cont.)

Selecting the sample

Training interviewers

58Steps in Survey Research (cont.)

Preparing the instrument (questionnaire)

Closed-ended questions

Open-ended questions

Pre-testing the questionnaire

Format

Cover letter

59Constructing the Questionnaire

Involves much more than the manipulation of words.

Paper size and binding

Determining which questions will encourage the recipient to start responding and keep going until the end.

Layout decisions must be made that involve spacing, size, and brightness.

60Alternative Questionnaire Formats

Booklets higher response rates

8½" x 14" legal paper

Creates an 8½" x 7" booklet

Folded length-wise will fit in a standard business stationary envelope

11" x 17 paper

Creates an 8½" x 11" booklet

Can consider two columns per page

61Alternative Questionnaire Formats

IF not doing a booklet, print on only one side of the sheet with a staple in upper left corner.

62Criteria for Ordering the Questions

A questionnaire is like a conversation.

One question should lead to the next like a person listening during a conversation. Constantly changing topics is confusing.

63Criteria for Ordering Questions

Begin by order questions from most salient to least.

Take into account what is the stated purpose of the study.

Objectionable questions are placed near the end of the questionnaire.

64Criteria for Ordering Questions

Try to order in a way that will be logical to the respondent

Consider grouping similar questions in sections

Consider how question may influence answers to subsequent questions

e.g. dont ask summary questions before specific domain questions

65Choose the 1st Question Carefully

No question is more critical than the first one.

Will more likely determine whether survey is returned or trashed.

66Choose the 1st Question Carefully

Suggestions

First question should clearly apply to everyone

Should be easy so that all respondents will need only a few seconds to read, comprehend, and respond to it.

67Choose the 1st Question Carefully

Suggestions

Needs to be interesting

Connectedness between the respondent and survey purpose (as understood by that person) is clearly evident

68To Achieve a High Response Rate

Respondent friendly questionnaire

Four contacts by First Class mail, with an additional special contact

Return envelopes with real First-Class stamps

Personalization of correspondence

Token prepaid financial incentive

69First Contact

A brief prenotice letter

Sent to the respondent a few days prior to the questionnaire.

70First Contact (cont.)

It notes that a questionnaire for an important survey will arrive in a few more days and that the persons response would be greatly appreciated.

Highlight what will happen, what it is about, usefulness of the survey, and a closing thank you statement.

As a P.S., you could mention the token of appreciation.

71Second Contact

The initial questionnaire mailing. Packet to include

Cover Letter

Appropriately constructed, letterhead, signed

Questionnaire

Booklet, saddleback stapled, figure on front page, back page blank.

72Second Contact Packet (cont.)

Pre-addressed, stamped (real), return envelope

Incentive

Returned card (?), mailed flat, commemorative stamps, etc.

73Third Contact

A thank you postcard

Sent a few days to a week after the questionnaire.

The mailing expresses appreciation for responding, and indicates that if the completed questionnaire has not yet been mailed it is hoped that it will be returned soon.

74Fourth Contacts

A replacement questionnaire

Sent to nonrespondents 2-4 weeks after the previous questionnaire.

Indicates that the persons completed questionnaire has not yet been received and urges the recipient to respond.

75Final Contact

May be made by telephone a week or so after the fourth contact (if telephone numbers are available).

This special contact has been shown to add an additional 13 response

76More Contacts?

Up to 20 follow-ups have been shown to be effective

77Recommended Steps in Conducting a Mailed Survey

Key Points

Get as many responses as possible

Control non-response error.

78Internet or Web-based Surveys

Becoming more popular

Know you population sample

Computer users?

Dial-up or broadband?

Design you own or use web-based survey companies

e.g. Survey Monkey http//www.surveymonkey.com/

79Mixed Mode or Bi-modal Survey

Some recent work on combining methods.

Start with web and use mailings for subsequent/ final rounds.

80Evaluating Threats to Internal Validity in Survey Research

There are four main threats to internal validity in survey research

Mortality

Location

Instrumentation

Instrument decay

81Non-response Error

Non-response is a serious problem in many surveys.

Members of the sample cannot be reached (non-deliverables) or refuse to respond (non-respondents)

82Non-response Error

In almost all surveys, some members of the sample will not respond.

Item non-response is due to unclear or questionable forms of wording.

83Proposed Procedures for Handling Nonresponse Issues

When 85 not achieved

Comparison of early to late respondents

Waves?Min 30 or 50

Using Days to Respond as a regression variable

Compare respondents to nonrespondents

Random sample ? Min 20 or use 1 or 2

84Data Analysis in Survey Research

After researchers receive the completed questionnaires, the task of summarizing the results remains.

The total size of the sample and total percentage of returns should be reported.

85Data Analysis (cont.)

The percentage of the total sample responding for each item should be reported.

The percentage of respondents who chose each alternative for each question should be given.

86Summary of Descriptive Research

Primary end sought is to describe or explore

Describe present status, accurate description of the incidence and distribution of phenomena.

87Summary of Descriptive Research

Usually conducted in a natural setting

Data collected by mail or Internet questionnaire interview, or telephone.

88Summary of Survey Research

Generally interested in making generalizations about populations, so sampling is involved.

Necessitates probability (random) sampling.

Census of all subjects can be done.

89Summary of Survey Research

Usually, survey research does not involve the testing of hypotheses about relationships between variables.

Consequently, variables are not identified as independent or dependent since the variables are used to describe status only.

Can use hypotheses to compare 2 or more groups.

90Summary of Survey Research

Specific objectives stated as subquestions to be answered.

91Summary of Survey Research

Advantages of Survey Research

Possible to collect a wide scope of information from a large population.

Deals with the real situation data are collected in the actual situation.

May be necessary first step in developing hypotheses

Or in identifying more specific problems for research that goes beyond description only.

92Summary of Survey Research

Disadvantages of Survey Research

Usually more extensive than intensive.

Ordinarily does not penetrate very deeply below the surface

Sometimes demanding of time and money.

93Summary of Survey Research

Disadvantages (cont.)

Frequently lacks external validity

Frequently difficult to obtain valid data

Involves slicing-time

Is this time representative of other times?

94Summary of Survey Research

Require a great deal of research knowledge and sophistication.

Looks easy but isnt

Sampling

Handling non-response error

Design, construction, and testing of questionnaires and interview schedules get to be major undertakings.

95Summary of Survey Research

The interpretation possible is description only.

Explanation or prediction of phenomena is not possible if research is designed to describe only.

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